With the hot sun beating down in Storm Lake, Iowa, Justin Ponsor fell in love with the “big power feeling” he got while riding tractors around his uncle’s farm in high school. His cousins then let him drive his uncle’s 6.0L Power Stroke and as the saying goes, that’s all she wrote.

“As soon as I turned the truck on and felt that diesel shake,” Justin said, “I was in love. I instantly knew I was going to own a diesel truck one day. My cousins and I took that truck mudding and it made me even more hooked. The sound of the engine at a high RPM, the sound of the turbo unspooling…everything was awesome about that truck and I became truly obsessed with wanting to own one.”

Justin’s dream came true with a 2015 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali HD. Justin’s a professional snowmobiler, and even if he didn’t need it to tow around his snowmobiles, he’d still own a diesel because of the power they put out. He liked gassers and even owned a Silverado with a 5.3L Vortec engine, but he says nothing beats the pure power and sound of a diesel.

Shredding Snow

Justin was just 6 years old when his dad brought home a 1970 Ski-Doo Elan. They would take it through the backyard and ditches in Iowa, but eventually moved into the mountains and he fell in love with the sport.

The now 27-year-old is an ambassador for Polaris and does his riding in Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and has even found himself in the mountains of Sweden. If it has an engine or involves an adrenaline rush, Justin loves it, but he says nothing takes the cake quite like snowmobiling.

“There’s something about how technical it is to mountain ride. Exploring new zones with your buddies and taking in the views from the top of a mountain doesn’t ever get old. The snowmobiling community is full of the coolest people I have ever met. I truly think there is no other industry like it.”

Justin uses his GMC to pull around his 34-foot Gooseneck trailer which, more often than not, is loaded with snowmobiles. It’s a hefty task, so he put in Air Lift Airbags to help lighten the load for his diesel when pulling the trailer. He also has a 2022 Platinum Dura-Deck with Electric Sliding Sides, which allows Justin to put snowmobiles directly on the back of the truck. The Air Lift enhancement comes in handy in those situations too.

Mods & Stuff

This truck takes on 20,000 miles each snowmobile season as Justin travels around the Mountain West finding new places to ride and going to his usual spots. He built it to be a workhorse and it performs like one.

Previous to owning the GMC, Justin had a 2008 Silverado 2500HD Crew Cab in black with a tan interior. He liked it, but knew what he wanted—a 2015 or newer GMC Denali 2500 that was also black with a tan interior. When the dealership called and said they had it, he jumped on it and had them put in a 7.5-inch Rough Country lift with 20-inch TIS 544 wheels and 37×13.50r20 Ironman MT tires. The ground clearance allows Justin to get through deep snow in the mountains while keeping its trailer-hauling capabilities. 

“They opened up the garage door and there she was,” Justin described. “All shined up and it looked great with the aftermarket parts. I got in it and it was much bigger than my last Duramax. I went from a 6-inch lift with 35s to a 7.5-inch lift and 37s. I didn’t think that would be that much of a difference, but it felt much bigger when I drove it, which I loved. There have been a couple times in a snowmobile parking lot when the snow hasn’t been plowed yet, where my Duramax is in four-wheel drive and spinning all four tires with snow up to the frame, barely chugging through to get to where I need to go. Days like these I am very thankful for the big lift.”

Justin takes the truck to a lot of snowmobile events such as Hay Days, a convention in Minnesota, where it sees a lot of love. People tell Justin they’ve seen it on social media and it looks even bigger in person. 

“One of my favorite memories at Hay Days is when we get a bunch of friends around the truck and take a group picture,” he said. “Some of us are on the ground, some on the sled deck, and some even on the snowmobile itself.”

Other modifications Justin shows off at Hay Days include pocket-style fender flares, Trigger Industries Long John Mud Flaps, B&W Gooseneck Hitch, custom headlights, smoked mirror lights, blacked-out GMC logos and a custom hexagon exhaust tip. He’s not a mechanic, so Justin leaves the bigger mods to the professionals, but he did some of the smaller stuff himself such as the tinted mirror lights, fender flares, mud flaps and aftermarket badges.

Justin took off the stock running boards after it was lifted and has plans for AMP XL running boards, though he’s hesitant due to the issues electric running boards can have with snow and ice build-up. He’s also considering a KC roof rack and smoked taillights.

Sled USA

In 2016, Justin was attending Morningside University for Advertising and Business Management and started a snowboarding Instagram page. As he had fun with it, it grew and followers began asking for decals. He decided to turn Sled USA into an actual business in May of 2017, selling hats, flags, shirts, decals and more through their website. They are also a dealer for Dura-Deck sled decks and ArcticFX Graphics wraps.

“My long-term goal with Sled USA is to build a destination lodge with cabins surrounding the property and provide my idea of the best experience you could have on a snowmobile trip,” Justin concluded.

Until Justin gets his lodge set up, you can meet up with him at a snowmobile convention and check out his truck for yourself. The truck doesn’t currently have a name, unlike all of his snowmobiles, but he’s open to suggestions through his Instagram (@justinponsor).